Salmon is indispensable in traditional Japanese dining. The Japanese love salmon and one of their favorite ways to prepare it is, grilling salted salmon. The grilling gives it extra aroma. Salmon chazuke is a very popular product and is made and sold by many companies. The prices vary depending on the salmon used and how it is prepared.

Here at Seizaemon, we aim to make the best quality salmon chazuke.

The legendary Japanese artist and epicure, Kitaoji Rosanjin wrote in his book “Ryori Ohkoku”,
“Ochazuke made by pouring green tea over salted salmon is a masterpiece. This combination tastes so good, all distractions are cleared from the mind and one is absorbed.”

Inspired by these words, we carefully examined all stages of our salmon chazuke production, starting with the selection of ingredients, its preparation, through to the actual manufacturing process.

Red salmon is said to be the best flavored salmon and we procure what is considered the best quality red salmon, fished near the Kuril Islands. We take our time salt curing the salmon which concentrates the umami and also removes any unwanted smells. The salted salmon is then grilled over charcoal and then flaked by hand. The binchotan charcoal we use at Seizaemon, emits infrared radiation, which means it reaches high temperatures but there are no flames. This is the best heat source for grilling fish, resulting in a moist and tender fish with a wonderful aroma.

Salmon chazuke prepared in this way may seem very salty, however if green tea is poured over it as in ochazuke, or if it is put into a rice ball, it will taste just perfect.